Your company has decided to overhaul its old IT systems and processes and your boss has placed the responsibility of selecting a logistics & international freight management solution that will drive the company’s operations to new levels of efficiency on your shoulders. Fear not, here are some top IT Strategy tips from Amit Maheshwari, CEO of Softlink Global, a market leader providing logistics management solutions for all service providers in the supply chain, that will help you choose the right partner to suit your needs.
Know your needs: Get first hand information from your boss on your company’s plans for the future, problems or limitations of existing transport management software and what is expected from the new logistics software solution. Plot your requirements based on your business strategy and future plans.
Don’t look for a vendor, look for a partner: Logistics Management solutions will perform a key role in your operations and how your customers perceive you. Don’t look at your potential service provider as a vendor but as a strategic partner who will be actively involved with your company’s growth plans. You don’t want to be stuck with software that is good for now but offers limited options in terms of scalability. Or worse still, an in experienced partner who may have great technical skills but little or no knowledge about the logistics industry.
Identify Key Performance Areas: Take a realistic look of your company’s processes vis-a-vis your competitors. Where are you lacking, what are the key areas where you feel that the software can help improve operations.
Enterprise or network? You can opt for enterprise or web-based modules of your Freight Management System, both have their own inherent strengths. Enterprise Logistics solutions offer customisation and require internal infrastructure while web-hosted modules, can be configured to your processes, do not require infrastructure. Software as a service which offers a pay as you go model will help you control costs in tough time and also enable you to get timely upgrades with no extra investment.
Customer Service and Scalability: Your logistics software vendor should be able to provide upgrades required to keep up with changing trends and needs. Also as your business grows your IT partner should have the capability to provide the back end support and troubleshooting aid as and when required.It is also good business sense to check with your vendor for satisfied customers that are deployed with long-term commitments.
It’s all about timelines: The slick presentation made by potential software solution providers might floor you but what about implementation timelines. A time bound implementation plan is the key to enable a smooth and hassle free deployment. The whole point of upgrading to a new IT system will be lost if your vendor has a trial and error approach with no control over the deployment schedule.
Training Support: Your vendor should be able to provide training to your internal team along with complete support during the roll out period. You don’t want a fly by night vendor who will just install the software and then drag his feet every time there are operational issues that need to be addressed. Your team could end up wasting precious time in following up for support.
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